In reviewing his side's performance, Mourinho told the club's official website: "It’s not a match where I have one more white hair, because everything was calm, in control.

"We felt since the beginning that we couldn’t lose the match, that a point would be a positive result for us. They went from top to bottom; we went the opposite way during the match.

"They lost intensity, they lost pressure, they lost control, and we were totally in control from minute 20 until the end of the game.

"It was not magic, but it was a solid performance. We have nine points and are almost there.”

Mourinho explained why he withdrew Rashford, for Anthony Martial, with 76 minutes played, saying: "With Rashford, I thought it was cramp because he was running so much – I thought it was muscular fatigue. But no, he told me he felt something in his knee. It didn’t look to me like a big thing but we don’t know."

And the United boss also praised teenage goalkeeper Mile Svilar, who got his angles wrong when attempting to keep out Rashford's set-piece.

“I already told the Portuguese press: only top keepers concede these goals.

"Because bad keepers stay on their line; bad keepers don't come out for crosses; bad keepers don't try to analyse the game; bad keepers don't use their space to give cover like he did in the first half a few times. I knew before the match – this keeper is phenomenal.”